Bill Stull's Latest Custom Photo courtesy of David Hagerman

11/02/2005
CUSTOMS RULE FOR QUALITY GARAGE TIME
When ever I talk with vintage sled nuts, I always try and pay attention to what is the hot 'new' trend in vintage sledding. Lately, I've heard it over and over again: Customs. If you've done some restorations, then eventually you get to feeling restless - even bored with the process of restoration. What I've often heard is that once you have made it ALL the way through a restoration, you need a bigger challenged to make it through again. When you start to feel that you have run out of challenges, something in your vintage sledder head wiring goes awry.

It is in these moments - spent from days, months, even years of exhaustive work - that your inborn need to be creative finds a way to the surface. Life Happens.

So before you know it, you've locked yourself in the garage and are spending countless hours building a unique, one of a kind masterpiece. I understand this. It makes sense. But I think it has more to do with Quality Garage Time then creativity gone wild. I think it has more to do with finding another excuse to hangout in the garage.

Okay, the obvious: Life can be a challenge, and the garage offers countless opportunities to let off some steam and 'get away from it all". It is also the one place that most men seek refuge from intruding and encroaching significant others. Let's face it: Women are wired to avoid what they think is your Personal Gas Expulsion Chamber and Beer Consumption Space. At least we've got them conditioned into thinking that's what a garage it. This is a very important to keep this myth running strong. Otherwise, sure as the sun comes up, some lady will file a lawsuit demanding equal Quality Garage Time, and have garages banned for being 'sexist'. But I digress.

Customs are the natural extension restorations for the guys that have become very adept at restorations. But you know, looking at Bill Stull's newest monster - I really, really would love to see that baby hit a track and tear it up! And that is the other great attraction to customs: You build them to ride them, no questions asked.

A DREAM COME TRUE
A new, modern, big & sexy Snowmobile Hall of Fame museum building is being built as we speak! This has been a a life long dream for many people and the Hall of Fame web site will be putting up progress pictures as it goes up. The new 5,000 square foot building is phase one of three expansions to the Hall of Fame in St. Germain Wisconsin. Speaking of the Hall of Fame - we'd like to have as many vintage sledders as possible show up this year for the Hall of Fame Vintage Ride With The Champs. Last year this ride was a huge hoot, this year, I know we will have many more riders - but we'd love to have ALL of you show up and show off your vintage ride!

Devin Fackrell's Promo Shot

10/31/2005
4 OUT OF 5 VINTAGE SNOPRO RACES LINED UP
Race #3 will be in Hayward Wisconsin on February 11th, 2005. Visit the Northern Ice Oval Series web site, or email Jim Wagner for more information. I've heard nothing but good things about this race and am excited to go check it out this winter. They race in front of the Chief Lake Lodge in Hayward, Wisconsin. It's a good location that drivers from all over should be able to get to easy. Thanks to Jim for his help getting it organized and for all the promo for the series.

PASSWORD A PROBLEM?
We are getting a few emails from people that are having trouble logging into the Classifieds, Bull Sessions, or the Store. Right now, each of these is a separate application - so you'll have to sign up for each separate. Don't panic! We are hard at work building several new interactive features for the site that will allow you to sign on once and be able to post ads, ad events, buy stuff from the store and a whole lot more.

VINTAGE SNOPRO RACER PROMOSHOTS
I've gotten several sent in, but my favorite has to be Devin Fackrell's collage of old and new 'Doo pictures.

10/28/2005
300 VINTAGE SLEDS LOST IN A FIRE
A barn near Eau Claire, Wisconsin went up in flames - taking 300 vintage sleds out. Here's the story:

Pat Schaffer lost an impressive vintage snowmobile collection and farm machinery in a barn fire Wed-nesday, but he managed a grin this morning as he looked at the pile of twisted metal and charred lumber.

"Guess I'll be going on a few snowmobile-buying trips," he said, as an outline of the debris emerged through the fog and remaining smoke.

"There wasn't anybody in there, and nobody got hurt, which is the biggest thing," Schaffer said.

The fire at the intersection of Balsam and Cedar roads in the town of Pleasant Valley was reported at 8:46 a.m. Wednesday. A passer-by notified the Schaffers of smoke in the 100- by 300-foot storage barn a short time earlier.

Wilbert Schaffer, who co-owns the large cash grain crop operation with his son Pat, pulled a couple of pieces of equipment out of the barn and used a small fire extinguisher to attempt to put out the relatively small fire, which initially looked like it was limited to a couple of snowmobiles.

As Township Fire Department officials arrived, the fire spread along a rafter and into the roof. Once it hit the roof, it spread quickly, Wilbert Schaffer said.

"There wasn't much we could do after that," he said. "It went very fast."

Pat Schaffer estimated damage at about $500,000. Items lost included about 130 snowmobiles, including 12 newer ones, a dump truck, semitrailer truck bed, tanker truck and manure spreader.

Schaffer, 38, said workers had been removing metal stalls in the barn on Tuesday and at times used a cutting torch. He and Wilbert speculated something had been smoldering.

"That's about all we can think of," Wilbert said.

Plans call for replacing the barn, but an exact design has not been determined, Pat Schaffer said.

About 20 fire trucks and 45 firefighters responded, said Mark Briski, spokesman for the Township Fire Department. Mutual aid was given by Rock Creek, Eleva, Strum, Altoona, Eau Claire and Chippewa Fire District departments.

Anyone know this guy? Anyone know what sleds were lost?

10/25/2005
TAKING THEIR PLACE IN HISTORY AT THE SNOWMOBILE HALL OF FAME
The Snowmobile Hall of Fame (SHOF) will celebrate its 18th annual induction on January 12th, 2006, in Eagle River, Wisconsin, inducting four individuals from the sport who made contributions to snowmobiling truly worthy of recognition in the prestigious Hall. The SHOF operates a year around museum in St. Germain, Wisconsin and are involved in a building expansion at their twenty acre complex located in the heart of snow country in the busy Northwoods tourism region of Wisconsin.

DARCY EWING (p) One of snowmobile oval racing’s most recognizable names and faces, Darcy Ewing of Big Lake, Minnesota, was a fixture on the USSA racing circuit for many years, competing in the many Pro classes that came and went during his long and successful career. Remembered as a friendly and humble driver who was always there for his fellow competitors while still being a fierce competitor on the racetrack with his Gemini Racing machines, Ewing made racing a family endeavor. At the time of his accidental death in 2002, Ewing was recognized as one of the winningest drivers of all time in snowmobile oval racing.

FRANS ROSENQUIST Known as one of the most durable and successful racers of the 70s and 80s, Frans Rosenquist came out of Atwater, Minnesota, to race Ski-Doo, Merc, Sno*Jet, Polaris, Yamaha and Kawasaki during a long 15 year career. Rosenquist was a member of the famous Team Frustration in the late 1970s, a Yamaha factory driver at the dawn of the IFS era and the final winner of the Kawasaki Tournament of Champions in 1981. He was a High-Point Overall Champion in ASA in 1976 and #1 bib in USSA as well as the winner of the famous Adema Cup in 1977.

E.B. (EARLAN) CAMPBELL (p) A natural mechanic and a devoted outdoorsman, Campbell was attracted to the art and science of winter travel as a youth, constructing wind-driven machines beginning in the 1930s. Very likely the first dealer to begin selling Polaris Sno-Travelers, his dealership in Millinocket, Maine, was instrumental in the introduction of snowmobiling in Maine and all across the East. Campbell was a key part of the informal early development team that worked the bugs out of the early designs and he was founder of one of Maine’s earliest snowmobile clubs.

COLEY FINDLAY Snowmobiling has attracted many genuine aficionados in its first half century but none attached themselves to the sport like Findlay. Understanding that snowmobiling is first of all an experience, Findlay set out to ride his snowmobile for an accumulated half-million miles, mostly near his home in Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, and his documented record on the trails places him at the very top in terms of time in the saddle. An avid collector of milestone snowmobiles and a tireless promoter of the sport, Findlay has records certifying his travels – mostly in the company of his wife, Katy - on the snow to a grand total of 450,000 miles.

Induction ceremonies are part of the 23rd Annual RIDE WITH THE CHAMPS presented by Modine Hot Dawg Garage Heaters . This day-long celebrity trail ride starts with registration and breakfast at 7:30 am at the Eagle River Inn, Eagle River, WI. After riding the beautiful trails of Northern Wisconsin the groups return to Eagle River for the cocktail and autograph session and the induction banquet. The ride fee is $100 and includes breakfast, lunch and dinner.

For information contact the Hall of Fame at 715 542-4488 or check out the web site for detailed information and photos from previous RIDE WITH THE CHAMPS, previous Hall of Fame inductees, other SHOF events, building fund information and museum web site tours go to: www.snowmobilehalloffame.com.

DON'T miss this years Vintage Ride with the Champs - there are some surprises lined up! Last year was more fun then you should be allowed to have with your clothes on.

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS YEARS INDUCTEES!

10/24/2005
UBER TREASURE FOUND!
My good freind Jay ("Rude Dog") Carsely came up with a very rare find this past week. Long rumored to have been in his area, Jay recovered this 1976 Arctic Cat SnoPro 340 - look close at the picture, you can see where the #22 was stitched on the seat!

What you are looking at in this photo is actually the sled hanging from a wall. The motor was nearby in another room. The sled originally went from Arctic Cat to Ray Ryznik of Team Abold, to its home in rural Maine where it has been all this time. The sled was nearly burned in a fire, and suffered some damage, but is mostly in tact.

Jay is looking for more photos and information on this classic racer, so give him a shout if you can help!

See more photos on RetroSno.com.

10/20/2005
NEW VINTAGE WEB SITES
I always get excited when I find new web sites that I can go look at - let's face, there isn't exactly a new vintage sled web site showing up every day! These two new sites are pretty interesting. The first, Smith Brothers Racing.com is the first of it's kind that I have ever seen. An entire web site dedicated to an oval race team - not only that, but a team that will be running vintage and new sleds on the ovals this coming season. Many of you have already met Mike Smith. Now the whole world can pop on over and say hello to Alaska's Smith Brothers Racing.

I wanted to point out a couple of things on the Smith Brothers site. First of all, it's a good looking site & easy to navigate. I like that. Next, check out the "About Us" page and the story I got to write about the Smith Brothers after chatting with them for awhile. These guys have been around for a long time and make for a very interesting story. Next, I encourage you to take a look at the pictures. These guys have owned some rare Arctic Race sleds in their time and took good photos.

After working on that story, it will be great fun to watch the Smith Brothers who will be racing in the lower 48 this winter.

Next up is a new web site from veteran Dead Tree Press guy C.J. Ramstad. C.J. is behind the Minnesota Snowmobiler Magazine and Supertrax. Get this: Everyday on his new site, you'll get to see another photo out of his extensive archive of photos he's either taken, or saved over the years that he has been covering snowmobiling.

So far he's had up some great shots of Bob Eastman, Archie Simonson, Gilles Villeanueve, Edgar & Hannah Hetten, Jim Dimmerman, Steve Thorsen, Marv Jorgenson, super-man Dave Wahl and more. The photos change every night at Midnight. Even better, for a mere $5 you can buy a single use Lo-Rez version of the pictures, or for $25 a hi-rex version. Click on the link for "Photos" and you can see all the previous photos from days gone by.

The new C.J. site is called Snowpod.com - short for "Snowmobile Picture Of the Day". Enjoy.

SHEER INSANE REPORTING PART II
I talked to Bob Poirier this morning. All he had to say about the article is that "that punk is in deep trouble if we find him". I'm waiting for a description of the intruder, uh, I mean reporter.

10/17/2005
SHEER INSANE REPORTING...?
Who are these people and why are they trying to kill the photographer? It's Wayne, Bob and Chuck Poirier, chasing a photographer out of their race shop, that's who.

Who are these people and why are they trying to kill the photographer?

This story and the photos were sent in by the anonymous coward on the other end of that camera. He emailed it to me from a hotmail account (mostly untraceable) and didn't put his name or anything else in the email that would identify this person.

Let me be clear: I had nothing to do with this, and I didn't ask anyone to break into a race shop to get photos - not of PoiBoys racing, nor Team Johnson.

But whoever this guy is, he's got gonads the size of Detroit and he got some photos from inside the shop...

10/13/2005
SKIMOBILING ANYONE?
I've seen our patron saint, Danica, in several interviews now. I keep waiting for her to say something about her Dad's snowmbile racing career, but nothing yet. I ran across this today. Apparently, Danica or her 'people' think TJ raced Skimobiles, whatever that is. From the article:

"Danica's parents are T.J. and Bev Patrick. T.J. raced skimobiles, motocross, and midget cars. T.J. and Bev met on a blind date at a skimobile event when Bev was a mechanic for a friend's skimobile. They have owned a Java Hut and a plate glass company."

And on another site, I found this:

"Born on March 25th, 1982, in Beloit, Wisconsin, to an avid skimobile, midget car, motocross racer, father T.J. Patrick, Danica was destined to lead a racing life."

No respect I tellz ya. No respect!

Finally, one site got it right:

"I always knew she had it in her to do it," said T.J., who built and raced midget cars and raced snowmobiles and motocross during his motorsports career. Now, he drives Danica's motor home to tracks leading up to race weekends"

10/07/2005
FIRST SNOW PHOTOS!
This just in from Joel Howard - our first snow of the year photo. "Here's a picture of what Dickinson, ND looks like today!! This is not a lie...they've gotten 15" of snow so far and the whole town is shut down due to so many tree's snapping off from their tops due to the weight of all the snow on them. Emergency crews are only able to get around with snowmobiles".

Yeah baby!

10/06/2005
VINTAGE SNOPRO MASTER SERIES
Check out some additions (and subtractions) to the rules. Registration will also be available shortly. We've added detailed rules on "class jumping". If you have any questions, please email.

10/04/2005
FIRST FALL CLASSIC PHOTOS
Sent in by Stephen Burdick, these are the actually the second photos I've seen (Ray Graf sent me some great photos I hope to post soon), but Stephen's got them on the New Hampshire Snowmobile Museum web site for all to share.

10/04/2005
TOP SECRET SPY PHOTO
This super-secret spy photo was taken recently at the shop of Team Johnson. They took it through the shop window, thus the glare. But never mind that - look at the Johnson complete with an IFS. I'd heard rumors about it, but there she is.... I knew the Team Johnson crew couldn't resist trying

The long rumored Team Johnson IFS?

something new. Can't wait to see what's under the hood!

Yes, that is a Rotax in the Big Johnson in the back... But I checked and my sources tell me it was just sitting there, they are not planning to run Rotax. Whew.

9/30/2005
JEFF METZ
Just heard the news that vintagesled fanatic and vintage racer Jeff Metz of New Berlin, Wisconsin, died in an auto accident.

9/30/2005
EBAY MANIA PART II
Oh Boy. This could get out of hand. First up is Alice Cooper's car for sale on eBay, and, I'm not kidding, a snowmobile oil that is actually called Analube. In 5th grade I was almost thrown out of school for good because I forgot I had headphones on and I burst into a rousing chorus of Alice Cooper's "I Love the Dead". It got me a trip to the principal and the school counselor. I didn't realize the song was about having sex with a corpse until many years later. Thanks to John Jantsch and SKi-Doo Monty for the heads up!

9/29/2005
EBAY MANIA
Every once in awhile, an auction for something really, really odd shows up on ebay. Today I got notice of an auction for a pair of leather pants. I have'nt laughed this hard in some time. Be sure to scroll down and read the comments from bidders.

Speaking of eBay, Ed Webb's 600 sleds will be for sale on eBay in groups of 10, starting October 15th or so. You can see a complete list and (coming soon) the auction dates. Check out RecEng.com for details.

9/28/2005
MAINE FALL CLASSIC
This weekend is Jay "Rude Dog" Carlsey's big Maine Fall Classic in Newport Maine. Me and the V-Man took a trip East a couple of years ago just to attend this show. Despite the rain, we had a really good time. It was really neat to see and meet all the people there that I had gotten to know over the web for several years prior. This year, I won't be able to shoe-horn in the show into the schedule, but I'll be thinking about it this weekend as I get some QGT - (Quality Garage Time).

The picture above is of Wally's (AKA Waldo) 71 795 and his new original condition RXL. Once at home in the Polaris Museum in Roseau, this baby is as close to an original condition RXL as you are likely to find. It's the monoblock 340cc RXL, complete with original motor, pipes, track, suspension, skis, even the hood is 100% original. This RXL also has a secret: If you can get Waldo to lift the hood, take a close look under the pipes. You'll see a big hole with markings on it that show a recoil was once mounted on the outside of the bulkhead. How can this be? Simple. This baby either came from the factory with a 440 triple, or they had one in there before selling it as a 340cc SuperStock. The sled was originally raced by an independent out of Montana.

I just had to put the photo up. These sleds are just two sexy together and it reminded me of the Polaris 50th Race Sled lineup. Plus you got to love pictures of sleds right after they have been all cleaned up and are ready to go to a show don't you? Nice work Waldo!

9/27/2005
A NEW COLLECTION!
Early in 2002, the entire Harrison family was invited to attend a vintage snowmobile show in Glenwood, Minnesota featuring of all things, the Scorpion. At first they thought it was a practical joke. What they saw however, would change their lives. Dick Harrison (one of Scorpions founders) was astonished to see so many Scorpion and Trail-A-Sled products polished, running and in the safekeeping of their proud owners. So moved was Dick that he even shed a tear or two. After doing a little research, his son Randy Harrison discovered, to his surprise that Scorpion and Trail-A-Sled, Inc. products definitely had a following.

Dedicating himself to accurately preserving the history of the firm and its people, Randy embarked upon a massive research project. He interviewed dozens of people, from the firm’s other living founder (Glen Gutzman) to former employees, distributors and racers. Vintage hobbyists like Les Pinz (former Scorpion dealer and racer) also lent a helping hand. Pouring through endless personal and public archives, Randy wrote a number of articles describing the firm’s history and now occasionally speaks at vintage events.

All the time that Randy was doing the research and building the Scorpion Trails web site, the family started finding some of the old Scorpion iron, an built a very fitting museum around it. It is, without question one of the best displays ever put together to show off some classic vintage snowmobile sleds, memorabilia and unique Scorpion and Trail-A-Sled items.

In addition, the Scorpion Trails web site does an outstanding job of doing exactly what Randy set out to do - accurately preserving the memory of Scorpion and all the people that made it happen.

So here it is - the first new collection added to the site in many, many months, the Harrison Family Scorpion Collection.

CONGRATULATIONS TO JOEL HOWARD! IT'S A GIRL!
You all know 'em and love him. Joel Howard, who works with the Wahl Brothers, and his lovely wife Catherine gave birth to a brand new baby girl. According to Joel, "she's so cute it darn near tears your heart out". I hear that "uncle" Dave Wahl has already advised Joel that since she will be as cute as mom, Joel will need to start fending off the little boys that will inevitably start knocking on the door.

Joel called with the news today while he was out chasing my racing sponsor for the year. Yes folks, my one and only sponsor for the year will be Joel's Cows. It seems the buggers got out of the fence and were trotting all over the fence this afternoon.

9/24/2005
WHAT'S GOING ON?
Let's see... there is a swap meet in Douglas, Minnesota today. Tomorrow is the Blast From The Past in Alpine, New York. It's believed the Boss Cat II will be making an appearance. If you are in the area, don't miss seeing that!

It's fall. Already the evening temperatures have dropped into the 40's. I have a garage full of things to play with, so I'm not going to spend much time in front of a computer today. Stayed tuned, in the next couple of days I'll a HUGE new collection page to post.

I got some reviews on the Reunion in Eagle River. I was not there, so I don't know for sure - this is just what people have emailed me. Todd A. who runs the event said numbers were generally up. Everyone said they had a good time, some said they thought the number of drag racers was way down because of the cleated track ban.

I heard several people were very upset with the rules meeting with the outfit that runs the vintage races at Eagle River. The comment I heard (from 3 sources no less) was in regards to allowing certain Arctic Cat's to run at Eagle River, the reply being "This is a professional race. If you want to run that junk, go west.". Geez. Who should be offended more? Those who live west of Eagle River or those that run machines that are so obviously inferior to the sleds they run at Eagle River? ;-)

Finally, I found this. It's enough photos of Queen Danica to keep you busy for hours. And I wasn't going to spend all day in front of a computer...

Yamahas	Mercs	76 open mod

9/16/2005
RANDOM PHOTOS
Rick LaBine sent in these photos of his garage and shops, where vintage sleds are stuffed into every corner. All are active race sleds. He runs ice and grass drags, speed runs and ovals. Rick says his his 76 twister open mod snopro sled has never been beat. It has 77Z pipes, a 76 merc bottom end with 75 free-air cylinders, Ski-Doo pistons and Polaris clutches. As Rick says, it's really a Merc-Cat-Ski-Doo-Polaris dragster with a Yamaha driver!

9/15/2005
CLASSIFIEDS SCAM
If you get an email asking you to log in to the vintagesleds.com classifieds and 'verify' your information, please delete it. Some slime ball has spoofed a page that looks like the vintagesleds.com classifieds - but then asks for personal information. You'll note these emails are not actually coming from vintagesleds.com, but some other domain. PLEASE DELETE THOSE MESSAGES AND DO NOT CLICK ON ANY OF THE LINKS IN THEM.

YVON WHO?
Looks like we can wear all the great "Yvon who?" buttons again... Earlier he was rumored to be going to the Sleigh Daze show, but now, according to two sources, due to some schedule conflicts, he will regretfully be unable to attend. This of course means his 74 Ski-Doo SnoPro won't be making the trip either. Dang! Could have been one of the great vintage stories of the year. However, I now know of 1 clone 74 racer that should see daylight soon, and 3 more clones on the way. Hey if we got no chance of ever seeing the real one, I'm okay with a clone or 4.

9/08/2005
WAHL BROTHERS FORMULA 500 & 340 CONTIGENCY ANNOUNCED!
Wahl Brothers put up a new article on the really, really sexy new drag chassis they have completed, and have announced that they have a program with Polaris and Camoplast to help keep the costs down on items you will need (including motor parts) to get your sled all spiffed up for these new classes. The rules are also up for both Formula 340 and Formula 500.

Hay-Days hype is at an all time high. Hope to see some of you there!

Yes sir, that is Gilles Villeneuve's 74 SnoPro that won the World's Championship in '74.

9/07/2005
VILLENEUVE MUSEUM
One of the places on my list to visit is the Bombardier museum and the Villenueve museum in Valcourt. Fortunately for all of us, Andy Elliot and Doug "IFS Skiroule" Mcllwain made the trip a few weeks ago, and I'll be sharing the photos over the next few days.

First up is Andy Elliot aboard Gilles Villenueve's original 1974 SnoPro he drove to victory in the 1974 World's Championship. I didn't think this sled existed until this photo! The more I learn about Gilles, the more incredible he becomes. Thanks to Doug and Andy for sharing! It looks like hey had WAY too much fun and I can't wait to see it myself someday.

ED WEBB UPDATE
I got a lot of email asking about the sale of Ed Webb's huge collection. So far all I have heard is that the 600+ sleds collection is still in tact and the latest plan is to put them up on eBay, one sled at a time. This should be interesting. Grease your checkbooks boys, there's a few really, really big buck items in there!

S.L.E.D.S RACING GETS SOME BIG PRINT
Minnesota Snowmobiling magazines new issue has a two page article on S.L.E.D.S. Racing and the main man Armand Westlund. The article describes Armand as "6'4" [and] has quick, intelligent eyes, an enthusiastic smile and a humble Norwegian demeanor". I'm afraid poor Armand will never live that down. The rest of the article is really great and puts S.L.E.D.S in a great light, goes over the history of the group and contains some really stunning photography by Brian Balsaitis. My favorite is the picture of VSCA Uber-Editor Mike Maegher on his 250 Z, and a picture of 3 one lungers all crammed into a corner with the caption: "This photo should remove all doubt about wether or not you can be competitive with a $400 snowmobile!" You can visit the Minnesota Snowmobiling magazine web site at www.mnsnowmobiler.org.

Freshly restored by Kurt Krueger: 1984 Ski-Doo twin tracker that will debut at the Eagle River Reunion.

MORE VINTAGE SLED VIDEO COMING!
Just got the word today that Ronn Hetten, son of Edgar Hetteen, is putting together a series of vintage video DVD's. Ronn and Edgar will be at Hay Days on Saturday (only) with the first two DVD's, "To Build a Memory" and "Mastered the Winter". They hope to come out with a new DVD nearly every month after that. The first one, "Building a Memory" was produced originally for Arctic Cat in the early 1970's. According to Mr. Hetten when Arctic went out of business in the early 1980's, Edgar was smart enough to grab up all the old film and buy it at the auction - making it his property. Now Ronn will be working to make them available to all of us! Can't wait, you know you just can't get enough vintage video!

RACE RUMORS:
Fact of fiction? I can't confirm any of this, I don't know if any of it is true, I just, you know, hear things. Could all be big, fat lies. Please read at your own risk.

• Team Johnson has hired another driver and is building the world's first IFS Johnson?
• Kurt Krueger is going to race the twin track pictured here at Eagle River this winter?
• Dick Peterson sold all the Polaris race sleds so he could build new Ski-Doos?
• Randy 'Little man" Cwikla is going to have a giant fleet of racers this year, all custom painted, all in a custom semi truck. Randy's goal? Be the most photographed racer in history?
• Poirier Boys racing is building 20 more sleds this year, including several open-mod scary beasts?
• Danny Desisle may not race at all this year, opting instead to help Armand Westlund hunt down new Snow Queens. Snow Queens will wear bikini's at all the big vintage events and introduce the drivers to the crowds?
• Jacob Goede and team will have sleds in several classes this year instead of just the screaming 800 Starfire they had last year?
• This will be Fred Smith's last year of vintage racing, next year he will field a team of young drivers that he will pick this year.
• Vance Elfering returns with his Rupp's, including a mad mod Rupp made up mostly of Alouette parts?
• Speaking of Rupp's, Bill Stull will be back to the setup he had two years ago when his mid-mounted motored Rupps were scaring the bejeezus out of everyone?
• Bruce Rosentredder is bulding a super secret 250 liquid sled so he can once and all prove to me and everyone else that I am "not his competition"?
• Team Obsolete has several new Arctic SnoPros ready to pounce?
• Wolf lake will have a special new class based solely on how fat the driver is. Each pound over 200 will give the river a 1 foot advantage on the starting line from the smaller drivers. It will be called "FatSno"?

9/02/2005
2006 Vintage SnoPro Master Series
I've set up a new page for the series - vintagesleds.com/snopro. Officially the first two races to be involved are Eagle River's vintage weekend and Freeport's Ice Daze race. We are very happy to be associated with these two big events. Classes are posted, as are the basic rules.

8/31/2005
YVON SPOTTING
One of the shows listed to the left may be the very lucky host of Yvon Duhamel at their show, and he may even consider bringing a certain very rare snopro sled... That would be so cool. No confirmation yet, so I'm not saying what show. If it happens, someone, for the love of Moses, please get some GREAT photos of Yvon and the sled!

WHAT I LEARNED AT PRINCETON

• Sunscreen would have been a very good idea. Sunburn baaaaad.
• Prices for parts have taken a leap upwards.
• Chicken Croissants are not bad - but nothing is when you are really, really hungry.
• According to one Bruce Rosentredder, I am "not his competition". I think he was waiting all day to tell me that.
• The new VSCA magazine is really good, and shipping NOW.
• Vance Elfering's and Dale Sloper's Rupp's are both ready to rumble this winter - we got a sneak peak on the grass.
• Princeton continues to be a prime-time babe attraction. Better girl-to-vintage sled ratio then any other event, except maybe Hay Days.
• Armon Westlund may have found a new Snow Queen. Or two. Maybe three.

8/24/2005
MAFIA YAMAHAS
The Mid-Michigan Snowmobile Swap and Vintage was a big hit - as these "Mafia funded" Yamahas prove. No pun intended with the "big hit comment". Actually these Yamahas belong to a couple of fun loving guys from Grand Rapids Michigan who plan to race them on the BEVRA circuit this coming winter. You can see more photos from the show at Erskine Marine.com web site.

Ready to Rumble BEVRA sleds.

PRINCETON BUZZ
I personally know of people coming from Alaska, Canada, Iowa and Michigan for what is becoming the premiere fall snowmobile swap in Princeton, Minnesota. The show is this weekend and is kind of a "best kept secret", until some blabber mouth put it all over the Internet {cough, cough}. I know last year I walked out of there a very, very happy camper with a brand new, never been on a sled set of 440 RXL triple pipes. And that was just a fraction of the loot I found at the show. See you there!

8/16/2005
21 PIPE SALUTE
Sorry to hear that Bud and Danny Lee passed away August 7th in a plane crash. George "Bud" Lee and son Dan died in a mid-air collision over Kempenfelt Bay (Canada), apparently each pilot unable to see the other. Both Bud and Danny rode a variety of sleds, but most of us will remember Bud Lee from the original "Team Kohler". Danny in more recent years piloted a Ski-Doo. You can read more about them on their local newspaper web site.

RACER PHOTOS
I got 2 photos so far - very nice photos and really good profiles from Duncan Reid and from Randy Sims - Keep 'em coming boys!

8/04/2005
RACERS - GET YOUR CAMERAS!
Remember all them great promotional photos the factories and other big-time race teams used to put out? I'll bet you got a bunch of them that you've collected all these years don't you? Well we want to bring them back 'vintage style' for the upcoming 2005-2006 racing season. We will be doing driver profiles here on vintagesleds.com for any driver that submits the material starting in September. We'll have forms to fill out soon, but for now GET THOSE PICTURES!

Bob Prezekwas, Ed Monsrud and Burt Bassett circa 1976.

Here's what the shot should contain, to the best of your ability:
1. Your driver(s) face. We all know what a helmet looks like, let's see the man behind the mask!
2. Your best sled. It's too hard to get a shot of several sleds, so just get the drivers face and the sled in the shot. THE SLED NEED NOT BE FINISHED for the promo shot - look closely at all the promo shots form the 70's, you'll see several items (like engines!) are painted into the photo!
3. Your Rig. Assuming it's something you want people to look at - but if your have a painted trailer, it does make it nice when you go to the race and see a sea of trailers that you recognize some from the promo shots.

Rememeber, the better the shot, the more likely other web sites, magazines, TV shows and future books etc will want to put that picture int heir presentations. Here's your chance to get famous. It's good promotion for the sport, good promotion for you and your sponsors, good for the associations & races. You get the idea.

You'll want to have your photo ready by October, at the very latest. I look forward to seeing them all! Have fun!

7/31/2005
THIS IS BROKEN....
The links in the last few updates have been fixed - thanks to those that pointed out they were not working!

7/26/2005
RUBBER TRACKS IT IS
Just got a message from Todd at the Eagle River Derby track. In order for them to secure insurance for the Reunion show Drag races, and for the Vintage race weekend this coming winter, they will have to go with the ISR rules on tracks. For this coming winter, (2005-2006) all 440cc Free-Air machines and below can run a cleated track at Eagle River. However, ALL sleds above 440cc and ALL liquids must run a rubber track. Next year, EVERYTHING must have a rubber track. Todd was not thrilled with this, but neither he nor the other Derby Track people have much choice in the matter.

Keep in mind, this is ONLY at Eagle River. SLEDS Racing, Wolf Lake and other associations have said they have been able to secure insurance without the help of the ISR or the ISR rules. As far as I know, all will continue to allow cleated tracks for some time. You should be able to go to any race other then Eagle River this year and find a place to run.

What effect do you think this will have on Eagle's weekend? This means that I will not be able to go - I just finished a 250 liquid that I refuse to stick more money into, so I'll just hang at Wolf Lake. Do most of the race sleds already have rubber tracks? I had heard rumors that another track in Wisconsin was, or is planning to run on the same vintage weekend as Eagle River, same rules, same classes, but will allow rubber tracks?? Is this true?

7/22/2005
THE 'BEST OF SNOPRO' IS THE BEST!
After months of anticipation, I finally got my copy of the new Race & Rally (now Snowtech) book, 'The Best of SnoPro 1973-1978'. It has such GREAT Sled photos, that as a courtesy for many people that pre-ordered it from the store, we decided to pack them in plain, unmarked brown envelopes. Why? Because Once you get it, your going to lock yourself in a room and not come out until you are worn out and spent from staring at it - cover to cover.

One of many rare photos from the book 'The Best of SnoPro' used with permission from SnowTech Magazine

This will take you approximately 2.6 hours. Then you'll do it again. And again. And probably one more time before you can put it down. You'll go get some chips and a beer, but you won't be able to eat. Your knees will be weak and your head will be swimming from the experience. Then, compulsively, you'll be back again, your heart pounding, sweat dripping form your forehead, focusing on the smallest details in every photo. You won't be able to sleep after seeing it, so don't try. Just assume you'll be headed towards the shop for many hours, because the adrenaline won't back off for about an hour or six afterwards.

It's that good.

The Best of SnoPro is thicker and has way more information then the previous book. In a lot of ways, it's kind of the best of Race & Rally magazine. This is a very good thing, since you can no longer get many of the old issues. Starting from the original 1973/74 SnoPro season, the book follows the whole SnoPro story in pictures through 1978. The majority of the articles are some of the best from the magazine, but there is plenty of new information in the book as well. I really like the article on Coltom winning at Alexandria in 75/76, and the article on how the Polaris IFS changed everything.

Pictures? Oh boy. Get a bib before you open the book, because you will drool all over it! In fact, I suggest you Wahl Brothers web site, there is a new featured article on how to build your own Formula 340 or Formula 500 race sled. It's a 1980 Polaris Indy that so far has been stripped to the bone. I'm certainly waiting for the next installment! I think these classes are going to make some exciting racing next year. Keep an eye on Hooper's web site as well for more information.

ED WEBB'S SLED
By now most of the world knows - the cat is out of the bag and running. Long time, big time collector Ed Webb is selling his ENTIRE collection - some 600 sleds in all! What I've heard so far is that he wants to sell them ALL at once, he does NOT want phone calls on them (he's hired a broker to take care of the whole deal) and his initial asking price would keep the vast, vast majority of us out of the running. What's in there? Well, we featured much of his stuff on the old site, and it is on the CD-ROM. Suffice to say there is about one of everything, and then some.

VSCA SALUTES THE TROOPS
The VSCA web site has been updated with a VERY cool picture from Iraq. It's a brigade of America's finest (from Minnesota), serving in Iraq, all of whom have their copies of the new VSCA magazine! How cool is that! I would imagine that serving in that nasty heat over there makes the VSCA magazine a very welcome item in the mail bag. Now I know why this site keeps getting all the traffic from the Middle East! Well boys, enjoy the magazine and we all hope you can be back before the first snow fall!

7/18/2005
'BEST OF SNOPRO' NOW SHIPPING
It's finally ready! The new book (The Best of SnoPro 1973-1978) from the guys at Snowtech magazine (formerly Race & Rally) is NOW SHIPPING. Those of you that pre-ordered should have yours within a few days. I got a sneak peak at it and it is absolutley amazing. I'll have a full review in the next few days.

7/17/2005
PHOTOS FROM GRANTSBURG
I have not been to the Grantsburg show in a year or two. But after a long week of being a computer jock, I decided a nice ride to Wisconsin would be fun.

More proof that chicks dig vintage sleds!

Grantsburg has a reputation of being a hot show, and today was no exception. Temperatures hovered around 100, and you could cut the humidity with a knife.

The number of sleds on the vintage display seemed to be down from the last time I was there, as did the number of vendors selling new stuff. The crowd was there, upbeat and having a good time watching them 'non-vintage' sleds do their water skipping thing.

The one really, really great thing about the Grantsburg show is all the girls wearing, shall we say, delightfully inappropriate sumner attire.

Then the Motor-X girls show started. Well it wasn't so much a show as that the girls walked through the vintage display. I immediately walked up and professed my undying love for them. Any of them. As you may have guessed, I fall in love easy.

I then proposed marriage. To all four of them. I even offered to give any one (or all four) of them willing to marry me on the spot half my assets on the spot. I was sure there must have been a priest or justice of the peace nearby. They just giggled at me. Even the giggles were cute. I asked if a picture or 30 would be okay. They agreed.

Off we went in search of some suitable ornaments to have them photographed with. Tom Ische's Cats easily won. Wow. The girls are, as you can see, very photogenic. Very "girl next door" don't you think? I also took just a few shots of some sleds.

7/09/2005
PHOTOS FROM THE 2006 CLASSIC SLED ROUND-UP
It could easily go down as one of the best shows of 2005. Great weather, great people and great sleds. Some of the very best came out to help raise money for the Snowmobile Hall of Fame. A new record for the show in terms of attendance and registrations meant a good time for all.

A full story on the show will appear in the next issue of the new VSCA magazine. Speaking of which, the verdicts are in and the new VSCA appears to be a smash hit - so congratulations to Mike and Judy who have taken on the task of getting the magazine every quarter. Mike and Judy brought their first ever issue to the Hall of Fame show.

The Boss Cat II. Absolutely one of Arctic Cat's finest.

The Boss Cat II, now belonging to Warning Family stole the show, but other very notable sleds made it a show you wish you didn't miss. Kurt Kruegers 71 Bullet was great. Bill Stull debuted his latest, a Rupp 650cc "what-if" Sno-Pro, Randy Springer brought his "they look good enough to eat off of" Cat muscle and SnoPro sleds, and an extremely rare 68 (or 69?) Merc race sled topped my list.

The Hall of Fame is in the middle of a big push to raise the last of the funds to build the new building for the Hall of Fame museum, which houses one of the very best collections on the world. If you can help, or know someone that can help, we urge you to contact the Hall. The phone number and email address are on the bottom of that page.

Until the next VSCA magazine comes out (is it ready yet??) here are some pictures to hold you over.

RACE RUMORS
Two rumors to pass on. One is a big family race team building an even bigger 170 HP (???) Ski-Doo with one reason to exist: Beat Team Johnson's mighty Rampage. It seems someone has finally dared to answer Team Johnson's challenge. Speaking of Team Johnson, I hear they've locked all comers out of the race shop and are very busy building the next big thing. I have to admit, I'm already very curious to know what that is. I seem to remember the Team Johnson guys inviting me up to the shop for one of their Thursday Night build sessions??

Steve Thorsen's 1978 Norman Knott Painting.

KAWARTHA CUP PAINTING - HIDDEN TREASURE
Way back in 1978, when then Polaris racer Steve Thorsen won the Kawartha cup, part of his prize was this original Norman Knott Painting.

Steve brought it home, put it in a closet, where it sits today. On my recent visit to the 77 and 78 World Champion's house, he pulled it out and asked if I knew anyone that might want to buy it.

Can anyone say "loaded question?"

I told him it may well be worth some serious money, so we better do some digging before we try and find a home with someone that could truly appreciate it. Turns out Mr. Norman Knott is a very well known artist, particularly in Canada.

It also turns out that his original paintings, like this one, sell for between $5,000 and $10,000, even if they were not prizes in major 1970's snowmobile races. Needless to say, I think Steve's a pretty happy guy with a 1978 prize that just keeps on giving! You just never er know what might be lurking around in your closet huh?

DANICA UPDATE
How can you miss her? She's all over TV every time I happen to flip it on. Obviously she's the best thing to happen to that sport to raise awareness of it. Now if we can get her, or another major league hottie to race some snowmobiles around a circle... Yeah I could see that. Maybe T.J. can talk her into switching to sleds? The debating about her on the race shows seems to be endless. I think we are going to need a volunteer to report on all of Danica's race activity - someone who follows those four-wheel things as they go around the track. Any volunteers?

7/04/2005
HAPPY 4th!
Hope you are all enjoying grilled something today. I had a little time so I thought I'd get back to them updates! First of all, when Bob Eastman retired back on January 21st , I invited anyone who was interested to send in the salute they would like to give Bob, had they the chance to attend his retirement party.

Bob Eastman, circa 1972

Boy oh boy did you send in the salutes! There was so many of them, that the task of putting a page (or 6) together became somewhat daunting. So I stayed up late last night and picked out the best of them. From Maine to Washington, Canada, Sweden and everyplace in between, here are the best of the salutes to one of snowmobile racing's all time greats, and one of the most influential people in the whole industry.

FORMULA 340 & FORMULA 500
You can read about the Formula 500 class on Hooper's web site, and the complete Wolf Lake 2005 - 2006 Formula 340 rules can be downloaded here (Acrobat required). Keep an eye on Whal Brothers web site as well - they have a picture story coming in the next few days showing how easy (and cheap!) it is to build done of these sleds. No, I don't think I can do it for less then $1,000, but $2k is still a possibility!

IS DICK BACK?
Rumors are swirling that Dick Peterson might not be so "retired" from racing as earlier reported. In fact, rumors are swirling that at least the RXL's will be back next year, and maybe a special appearance on a Starfire at the Eagle River Vintage race.

DANICA'S STORY
The Kansas City Star web site has a nice article on how Danica Patrick battled her way into being able to race, and the sacrifices her dad (vintage racer T.J. Patrick) and her mom put up with to get her into that car. There life has completely changed now that Danica may well have changed the face of IRL racing. You can hunt around for it and read it here, but this is one of those annoying sites that requires registration to read the articles! Or just search Google for Danica Patrick. Wow. 410,000 places on the web mentioning her. Or just go and enjoy the good photos.

NOW AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER! SHIPPING BY MID-JULY!

6/23/2005
THE BEST OF SNOPRO!
An absolutely fascinating 236 page book full of pictures, information, insights, and the tragedy of the time period. It covers the exotic SnoPro machines and the legendary drivers of Alouette, Arctic Cat, Chapparral, Kalamazoo, Kawasaki, Mercury, Polaris, Rupp, Scorpion, Ski-Doo, Skiroule, Sno-Jet, Suzuki, and Yamaha. Be among the first to own this great new book compiled from the archives of Race & Rally/SnowTech Magazine - You'll love it. Order your copy today!

6/20/2005
LONG TIME NO UPDATE
Whew! What a couple of weeks its been since I last updated. Business is booming, and I've got WAY to many projects all going at once. But it's all good.

NEW BOOKS COMING
The second installment of Race & Rally (Now Snowtech Magazine) books is on the way SOON. This one features the SnoPro era, from 1973-1978! Should be off the presses in MID JULY and you can order it EXCLUSIVELY here on vintagesleds.com. Get your drool buckets cleared out now, because they are going to be full when you start looking at this!

The other book, well it won't be done for some time, but with any luck before next winter. I'm happy to announce I am working on my first ever novel - Yep, it has a lot to do with vintage sleds, but I ain't talking no more then that! Once it gets closer to print, I'll spill some beans. Until then, I'm going to just keep interviewing..

Steve Thorsen's original 'Midnight Blue Express' Helmet.

HALL OF FAME COLLECTION
...is about to expand. Steve Thorsen has agreed to put the helmet and leathers he wore when winning the World's Championship in both 1977 and 1978 on display, as well as a leather 'SCORPION SQUADRON' bag (complete with his name stitched in leather) and the Team Frustration 'Frog Rock'. The Frog Rock is literally a rock with the famous Team Frustration logo on it. The team hauled it for good luck in the race truck as they gathered up a huge stack of trophies in the 1970's. It must have worked.

All these items will be soon headed to the Hall of Fame - the next time I make the trip. You just can't ship stuff this amazing. I can't anyway!

ST. GERMAIN SHOW
Coming on the next up date is the photos from the St. Germain show - and the next VSCA magazine will have a full story on the big event. By all accounts, it was a smashing success!

INERESTING NEW RACE CLASSES
Two new race classes have popped up that really got my attention. The first is an 'Indy 340' class at Wolf Lake for 2006. This class will run any of the early Indy's (up to 1992) with stock suspensions, motors, & pipes, but lets you alter the seat, hood, handlebars, clutches.

At Hooper Racing, they've introduced an almost identical class, except it's for 500cc motors, and is not geared so much for vintage racing, but to entice people to run Champ sleds eventually, by giving them a very inexpensive race sled to start with. In the Hooper Indy class, in order to KEEP COSTS DOWN, you can BUY any sled after a race for $4,000.00. This will prevent anyone from spending more then that on a whole sled! Yeah I know $4,000.00 sounds steep to a lot of people, but keep in mind a full-blown Champ sled starts around $29,000.00! I think this is a GREAT way to get the interest up in overall oval racing.

I got so excited about these classes that I ran right out and bought two Indy's. I think I can have them race ready by winter for less then $1,000.00!

Yes, I've been accused of being a dreamer before.

6/7/2005
OUR NEW PATRON SAINT!
The votes are in sweet little Danica Patrick is our new Patron Saint of Vintage Snowmobiles. Her father is T.J. Patrick, who campaigned for many years on the SnoPro circuit. That's a big point in her favor. Her mother has relatives all over Roseau, and that helps a lot, but it's Danica's need for speed that put her over the top. The voting was nearly 20 to 1, with Courtney coming in a distant second.

Goodbye Liv {{sniff}}. I'll miss ya.

Not.

Photo from FHMUS.COM

UBER TREASURE UPDATE
In trying to identify the original driver of a 78 440X Polaris RXL, I told the story of Todd Elmer smashing one of Steve Thorsen's 78 RXL 440's in West Yellowstone in 1978. Here's some more photos of that accident, from a Snotrack magazine, and from Mike Johnson:

Abold driver Ray Riznick rounds the corner.	Riznick's steering snaps.	Riznick smashes the inside wall.
Todd Elmer hits Riznick's disabled sled and flys ass over tea kettle. Both drivers walked away from this!	The 440X Elmer was driving is badly damaged? Maybe not!	Riznick's Cat took most of the impact, smashing the tunnel all the way to the gas tank.

What do these pictures tell us? Plenty! The close up Elmer's (Thorsen's) sled shows it is clearly a magnesium bulkhead - the normally aluminum RXL's would show up bright and shiny like the tie rods, but instead are blackened, discolored magnesium. This is clearly one of the 440X sleds.

THOSE ARE NOT FLAMES coming out of the sled - no, that's were my cat vomited on the photo, then licked the vomit and some of the photo off. But before the "vomit incident", I could tell the gas tank had inlets on top of the tank, instead of the front... they way Thorsen had his. The Bunke sled and photos I've found of Hulings' sled had them in front of the tank.

The handlebars do not appear to be Thorson's but I cannot tell. My chassis has some beefed up shock towers that this chassis does not have.. Bottom line, this photo raises more questions then it answers...

I'll have to keep digging. But that's the fun part!

Just for the fun of it - Mark Kemmerer and his brother "back in the day" on their prize winning racers!

Rare, original 1978 Arctic Cat SnoPro Army team hood! The current owner just likes it hanging on his wall. It does really look nice there! One of these sleds was found when the owner went to blast the black paint off and found the blue underneath. Will sled and hood ever be reunited? Only the Shadow knows!